Pocketknife with Enhanced Safety Features

The present general inventive concept relates generally to a pocketknife, and particularly, to a pocketknife with enhanced safety features.

Conventional pocketknives serve as a compact safety and/or utilization weapon, yet they are prone to accidentally opening when stored in pockets or bags, leading to injuries or unwanted access by others.

Considering conventional pocketknives pose a danger if misused, the ability to control the multi-purpose accessory is of essential interest to users.

Therefore, there is a need for a pocketknife that has enhanced safetyfeatures.

The present general inventive concept provides a pocketknife with enhanced safety features.

Additional features and utilities of the present general inventive concept will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the general inventive concept.

The foregoing and/or other features and utilities of the present general inventive concept may be achieved by providing a pocketknife with enhanced safety features, including a blade, and a handle hingedly connected to the blade at a top portion of the handle, the handle including a blade compartment to receive the blade therein, and a pressure plate disposed on a first side of the handle to release the blade from the blade compartment when the pressure plate is pressed.

The pressure plate may control the blade to be released from the blade compartment in response to a user providing a predetermined amount of pressure to the pressure plate.

The handle may further include a central processing unit disposed within the handle and connected to the pressure plate, such that the central processing unit stores a thumb print of a user to recognize the thumb print of the user in response to the user placing a thumb onto the pressure plate, such that the central processing unit controls the blade to be released from the blade compartment in response to the user placing the thumb onto the pressure plate.

The handle may further include a first retractable guard hingedly disposed at the top portion of the first side of the handle to swivel from a retracted state such that the first retractable guard is parallel to the handle, to an extended state such that the first retractable guard is perpendicular with respect to the handle, and a second retractable guard hingedly disposed at the top portion of a second side of the handle to swivel from a retracted state such that the second retractable guard is parallel to the handle, to an extended state such that the second retractable guard is perpendicular with respect to the handle.

Various example embodiments (a.k.a., exemplary embodiments) will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings in which some example embodiments are illustrated. In the figures, the thicknesses of lines, layers and/or regions may be exaggerated for clarity.

Accordingly, while example e embodiments are capable of various modifications and alternative forms, embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the figures and will herein be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that there is no intent to limit example embodiments to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, example embodiments are to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the scope of the disclosure. Like numbers refer to like/similar elements throughout the detailed description.

It is understood that when an element is referred to as being “connected” or “coupled” to another element, it can be directly connected or coupled to the other element or intervening elements may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly connected” or “directly coupled” to another element, there are no intervening elements present. Other words used to describe the relationship between elements should be interpreted in a like fashion (e.g., “between” versus “directly between,” “adjacent” versus “directly adjacent,” etc.).

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of example embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes” and/or “including,” when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components and/or groups thereof.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which example embodiments belong. It will be further understood that terms, e.g., those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art. However, should the present disclosure give a specific meaning to a term deviating from a meaning commonly understood by one of ordinary skill, this meaning is to be taken into account in the specific context this definition is given herein.

illustrates side view of a pocketknife with enhanced safety features, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present general inventive concept.

illustrates top view of the pocketknife with enhanced safety featuresof, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present general inventiveconcept.

The pocketknife with enhanced safety features, and all components therein and/or connected thereto, may be constructed from at least one of metal, plastic, stone, ceramics, wood, silicone, paper, cloth, circuitry, and rubber, etc., but is not limited thereto, and can be constructed from any material known to one of ordinary skill in theart.

Referring to, the pocketknife with enhanced safety featuresmay include a handleand a blade, but is not limited thereto.

The handlemay include a grip, a blade compartment, a first retractable guard, a second retractable guard, a thumb indentation, a pressure plate, a charging port, a battery, a central processing unit (CPU), and a belt clip, but is not limited thereto.

The gripmay be a textured portion of the handleto allow a user to more easily grip the handle, and may be disposed at an entirely of the handleor only at a portion thereof.

The blade compartmentmay be a groove (e.g., crevice, aperture, etc.) disposed within a side portion of the handle, and may act as a space to allow the bladeto be stored thereinside when the blade is folded inward toward the handle.

The first retractable guardmay be disposed at a top portion of the handleat a first side thereof, and the second retractable guardmay be disposed at the top portion of the handleat a second side thereof. The first retractable guardand the second retractable guardmay be hindely connected to the top portions of the handleto be able to be pressed against the first and second sides of the handle, respectively, when in a retracted state, such that the retractable guardand the second retractable guardare substantially parallel to the handle. The user may swivel the retractable guardand the second retractable guardninety-degrees such that the retractable guardand the second retractable guardare perpendicular with respect to the handle, when in an extended state. When the retractable guardand the second retractable guardare in an extended state, the user is protected from a thumb sliding forward onto the bladewhen manipulating the pocketknife with enhanced safety features.

The thumb indentationmay be an indentation on the first side portion of the handle, such that the user may have comfort when holding the handle.

The pressure platemay be a button that the user may press to release the bladefrom the blade compartment. The pressure platemay be a pressure plate that mechanically releases the bladefrom the blade compartmentwhen the pressure plateis pressed. Alternatively, the pressure platemay be a thumb print recognition device to allow the bladeto be released from the blade compartmentwhen the CPUrecognizes a thumb print of the user.

When the bladeis released from the blade compartment, the user may continue to rotate the bladealong a hinge point (i.e., a hinge point that connects the bladeto the handle), such that the bladeis fully extended to be substantially parallel and in-line with the handle.

The charging portmay be any type of charging port compatible with a charging cable to allow the batterydisposed within the handlethe be charged, including, but not limited to, USB-A, USB-B, USB-Mini, Micro-USB, USB-C, and Lightning Charge (APPLE products).

The batterymay be connected to the CPUto provide electrical power thereto.

The CPUmay include electronic circuitry to carry out instructions of a computer program by performing basic arithmetic, logical, control and input/output (I/O) operations specified by the instructions. The CPUmay include an arithmetic logic unit (ALU) that performs arithmetic and logic operations, processor registers that supply operands to the ALU and store the results of ALU operations, and a control unit that fetches instructions from memory and “executes” them by directing the coordinated operations of the ALU, registers and other components. The CPUmay also include a microprocessor and a microcontroller. The transmitter CPUmay be a local computer device, a remote server, or cloud computing device.

The CPUmay also include a storage unit, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), a hard disk, a flash drive, a database connected to the Internet, cloud-based storage, Internet-based storage, or any other type of storageunit.

The CPUmay access the Internet via an internal communication unit to allow the CPUto access a website, and/or may allow for communication with a mobile application and/or a software application. For ease of description, the mobile and/or the software application will be hereinafter referred to as an app. The app may be downloaded from the Internet to be stored on the storage unit of the CPU.

The CPUmay also have a global positioning service (GPS) device installed therein, to allow the CPUto be located via a GPS signal.

Thus, the CPUmay communicate with an external computer, mobile device, or any other type of computer-type device, in order to allow the CPUto save a thumb print of the user so that the CPUrecognizes the thumb print of the user when the user presses a thumb on the pressure plate.

The belt clipmay be disposed at the second side of the handleto allow the user to clip the handle onto a belt, for example, of the user.

A main purpose of the present general inventive concept is to provide users with a highly advanced fingerprint-activated safety blade, designed to be paired with a user-friendly app. Ingenious and practical, the present general inventive concept offers an alternative design that employs fingerprint recognition and customizable safety settings to ensure only owners of the knife can operate the weapon. Expanding on the initial design of an average pocketknife, the present general inventive concept introduces a novel and comfortable groove thumbprint scanner on the handle. With the activation of a 10-15 pound pressure plate, which allows for an adjustable 1.5-3 second delay configuration via the complementary app, the present general inventive concept ensures intentional deployment based on thumbprint programming. This prevents accidental openings, guaranteeing that the blade is only accessible when needed by the primary owner. As the spring-loaded blade is released, two pegs on the handle's sides automatically pop up preventing slippage during use, offering additional protection for the owner, if/when thrusting. With advanced technology, users can customize the settings of the knife, including adjusting the pressure plate weight and time delay, as well as monitor battery life, allowing for a personalized experience and complete control of their weapon. Moreover, the present general inventive concept features a USB charge port at the base of the handle enhancing its reliability for extended use. This innovative, top-quality self-defense weapon improves upon the functionality and safety of any conventional pocket knife and therefore may prove to be essential in the safety industry.

A pocketknife with enhanced safety features, including a blade, and a handlehingedly connected to the bladeat a top portion of the handle, the handleincluding a blade compartmentto receive the bladetherein, and a pressure platedisposed on a first side of the handleto release the bladefrom the blade compartmentwhen the pressure plateis pressed.

The pressure platemay control the bladeto be released from the blade compartmentin response to a user providing a predetermined amount of pressure to the pressure plate.

The handlemay further include a central processing unitdisposed within the handleand connected to the pressure plate, such that the central processing unitstores a thumb print of a user to recognize the thumb print of the user in response to the user placing a thumb onto the pressure plate, such that the central processing unitcontrols the bladeto be released from the blade compartmentin response to the user placing the thumb onto the pressure plate.

The handlemay further include a first retractable guardhingedly disposed at the top portion of the first side of the handleto swivel from a retracted state such that the first retractable guardis parallel to the handle, to an extended state such that the first retractable guardis perpendicular with respect to the handle, and a second retractable guardhingedly disposed at the top portion of a second side of the handleto swivel from a retracted state such that the second retractable guardis parallel to the handle, to an extended state such that the second retractable guardis perpendicular with respect to the handle.

The present general inventive concept is the only product of its kind that features fingerprint recognition on a pocketknife to prevent unwanted access and/or premature exposure to the blade. This unprecedented product is uniquely designed with highly advanced scanning technology and offers a user-friendly app that works in complement with the blade for streamlined operation. The present general inventive concept is carefully crafted with durable, high-quality materials that ensure a user consciously intends to use the weapon, at an exact time, to either complete a task or when suitable for their safety.

Although a few embodiments of the present general inventive concept have been shown and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made in these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the general inventive concept, the scope of which is defined in the appended claims and their equivalents.